Southeast Region

Today perhaps more than ever before, global missionaries encounter numerous forms of crises and human suffering in the normal course of their work. Whether it’s poverty in Africa, a Tsunami in southeast Asia, human trafficking in India, or refugees in Europe and America, the likelihood that missionary efforts will intersect with some form of global crisis appears to be on the rise. What does this mean for mission theology and practice in the 21st century? How will these events shape the future of the church engaged in the missio Dei? These issues raise important missiological questions for the church, including:

How do these realities impact the ongoing debate between holistic missions advocates and those who emphasize proclamation?

What are the implications for indigeneity when it comes to responding to global crises? How can disaster relief efforts build on the knowledge and cultural insight of local churches and local believers? How can local believers be an integral part of disaster response?

What contextual theologies are coming from the global south that informs modern mission praxis as it relates to human suffering?

What do global crises mean for North American and European churches, especially in light of materialism and individualism that often characterize Western churches?

How does the concept of missio Dei relate to responding to human need?

What are churches among the poor doing to respond to crises in their own communities?

How do global crises especially affect women and children? How can the church on mission serve the needs of women and children in crises?

Papers are solicited that address these and other related topics from missiological, theological, historical, sociological, and/or regional perspectives.

To propose a paper, send a topic, title, and 200-300 word abstract to your regional EMS vice president, Greg Mathias at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by January 31, 2019.

Accepted papers should be 4500-7000 words in length and use Chicago Turabian author-date citation format. Selected papers presented at the regional meetings will be invited to be presented at the annual EMS meeting in Dallas, September 13-15, 2019, leading to the possibility of being published as a chapter in the EMS Annual Compendium for 2020.